Monteiro objects to development of Brookfield Town Center

Brookfield CT

24 August, 2021

2:54 PM

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By Scott Benjamin BROOKFIELD – Petitioning First Selectman candidate Austin Monteiro says he would have designed the 198-acre Brookfield Town Center business district "differently from day one" since "people were expecting Main Street, Ridgefield or Greenwood Avenue, Bethel, and they are not getting that." "They are not attracting the right businesses to these locations," declared Monteiro, a commercial real estate agent who also operates a fitness center out of his garage. He said the business district, which stretches through the Four Corners area on Federal Road, is not a destination location that generates considerable foot traffic. In an interview with Brookfield Patch, Monteiro said the Brookfield Town Center needs to have, among other things, more activity-based fitness clubs, a diner that is packed with customers during the meal hours and a small movie theater. Two phases of the streetscape have been installed and Democratic First Selectman Steve Dunn has indicated that the third and fourth phase should each be under construction within the next year. Monteiro said that unlike Main Street, Ridgefield and Greenwood Avenue, Bethel, Brookfield is building housing in its New England-style central business district. He noted that customers to the stores at Brookfield Village see residents in lawn chairs nearby, which can create "a strange vibe." The Brookfield Journal reported in 2007 that Hal Kurfehs, then the chairman of the municipal Economic Development Commission, said the plan for the Brookfield Town Center envisioned apartments over some of the stores to generate additional revenue for the business tenants and provide a band of customers who would frequent those stores. He said that many of the customers to Brookfield Town Center would come from a short radius. Regarding using tax abatements for economic development, Monteiro said, "If we can attract businesses, then that is a good thing." On another topic, Monteiro, 38, said that he is "open minded" regarding adding more affordable housing in Brookfield, which was a high-profile issue in the last two municipal campaigns. Dunn recently told Brookfield Patch that he expects the state to grant an extension of the town's moratorium regarding the 8-30g provisions. The first selectman said the moratorium largely restricts affordable housing to the Federal Road corridor. The last two Republican candidates for first selectman, Harry Shaker in 2017 and Mel Butow in 2019 indicated during that a harder line needed to be taken to protect property values in town. Monteiro said the typical GOP position is that the lower-priced units will "lower property values," for nearby homes, but said he believes the affordable housing applications should be addressed on "a case by case basis." He remarked, "Some people need that sort of thing, and I think we should help them do that. We also should encourage more diversity." The Wall Street Journal reported this spring that Hunter Housing Economics, a real estate consulting firm, has stated that six percent of new homes in the United States are build to rent projects. The consultant estimates that figure will double by 2024. Dunn said in an interview in June with Brookfield Patch that that trend "already" is happening in Brookfield with Brookfield Village and Laurel Hill. Monteiro said there should be more opportunities for people 40 and under to live in Connecticut, which has a high cost of living. He said there appear to be fewer high-paying jobs for that generation since the 2008 Great Recession. "A lot of my friends have left and gone to Texas, Florida, Nevada," he explained. "The American dream is not for them as it was for their parents." In early July it appeared that Monteiro would be the Republican nominee for one of the two Other Selectman seats on the three-member Board of Selectman. The Republican Vacancy Committee recommended him for the position over current Selectman Harry Shaker, who was the party's candidate for first selectman in 2017 and has served 13 years on the Board of Education and for the last four years on the Board of Selectmen. Shaker has been a popular youth sports for decades. In a phone interview with Brookfield Patch, Republican Town Committee Chairman George Blass said the party's Vacancy Committee, which conducted interviews with Monteiro, Shaker and a raft of candidates for other municipal offices found Monteiro to be "very dynamic and energetic." Monteiro said that rumors about him circulated before the Republican Town Committee's July 6 nominating session. Shaker was nominated from the floor and received the town committee's endorsement in a 14-11 vote. Blass said he met with Monteiro the following day and recommended that he consider seeking the selectman's seat at the GOP caucus on July 20, and also noted that there was a possibility he could be nominated for a seat on the Board of Education. A day later, Monteiro changed his registration to unaffiliated and began plans to run for first selectman as a petitioning candidate. His petition signatures were certified on August 10. Blass said he and other Republican Town Committee members were "shocked" by Monteiro's decision. "What he did was baffling. He seemed like a viable candidate for our party." Monteiro said he realized that his "morals and values were not in synch with the Republican Town Committee" and that he doesn't believe he would have had the party's support for the selectman's seat at the caucus. He indicated that he didn't believe he had much of a future with the local GOP. He added, "I'm not a sore loser." Blass said that typically petitioning candidates for first selectman don't generate much support and he doesn't believe that Monteiro's campaign will alter the dynamic of the race since he will likely take votes both from Tara Carr, the Republican nominee for first selectman, and from Dunn, who is trying to annex a fourth term. However, in 2007 petitioning candidate Bob Silvaggi, who had taught and coached in the Greenwich public schools for many years, captured the first selectman's race, and in 2009 former Board of Finance Chairman Ernie Nepomuceno ran an ambitious campaign as a third-party candidate that some observers said might have hurt the Republican nominee, Bill Tinsley, who lost by 288 votes to the Democratic nominee, Bill Davidson. Monteiro has started canvassing neighborhoods and holding meet and greet events with voters at local restaurants. He noted that incumbent Newtown First Selectman Dan Rosenthal is running for re-election as a third-party candidate with the Serve American Movement and former Major League Baseball player and manager Bobby Valentine is running for mayor of Stamford as an unaffiliated candidate. "There are a lot of people upset with both parties," said Monteiro. State Rep. Stephen Harding (R-107) of Brookfield, who is 34 years old, told Patch.com in June that the Millennials are less likely, for example, to register with the Republican or the Democratic parties than their parents or grandparents were. On fiscal issues, Monteiro said he objected 1.52 increase in the tax mill rate for the current fiscal year since the town was mired in a pandemic. He acknowledged that both the municipal government and the school district have employee contracts calling for increased salaries, but he believes that spending could be streamlined so that there would be no tax increase. Monteiro expressed concerns about the increase early last year in the salary for the first selectman being from $90,699 a year to $100,346. Dunn told Brookfield Patch in late 2019 that municipal officials agreed to the increase so that the position would be more attractive to potential candidates, particularly those in mid-career with children. There are still a number of municipal employees that have higher salaries than the first selectman. Monteiro said he would accept the former salary, if elected, and donate the roughly $10,000 increase to the municipal treasury. He added that he questions whether the first selectman should have a salary that is only about $22,000 less than the mayor of Danbury, which is the state's seventh largest city and has more than four times as many people as Brookfield. He said he is "not opposed" to lengthening the term of office for the first selectman from the current two years to four years. Dunn has said he hopes a future Charter Revision Commission will discuss that alteration, since the position requires considerable time and a new first selectman faces a learning curve. Regarding recreation, Monteiro said he supports construction of a town skate park, which has been proposed by a grassroots group. He said as first selectman he would encourage more movement activities at the recreation sites. Monteiro predicted that a decision by the town on whether to ban cannabis establishments could be "a polarizing issue." Earlier this year Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) signed legislation legalizing recreational marijuana. However, municipalities have the option of approving a local ordinance to prohibit cannabis establishments. "There are pros and cons," Monteiro said. "I don't think that using marijuana is healthy, but I also support freedom of choice." "It would generate more revenue for the town," he added. "You find that younger people support it and people from middle age on up are more likely to be against it." On a separate subject, Monteiro said that as first selectman he would be very active on the social media, noting that former Danbury Republican Mayor Mark Boughton had thousands of avid followers on Twitter. "It is important to have more of an engaging presence in the town," Monteiro explained. What did he learn at Western Connecticut State University that will help him if he's elected? Remarked Monteiro, who earned a bachelor's degree in Business Management and Human Relations, "There was teamwork, because there were small group projects in some classes where you had to create a business or an economy piece." However, he indicated that he got an even better education after graduating in 2005 and starting the CrossFit health center in Danbury, which went from "no members to 250 members." Monteiro said, "What I did there is similar to running a town."